


the way we met

by ruzekhalstead



Series: halstead & upton au collection. [9]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Upstead, meet cute, meet cute/ugly cute bc hailey takes him DOWN
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27049786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruzekhalstead/pseuds/ruzekhalstead
Summary: written based on prompt:“running is supposed to be good for your health except i seem to have sprained my ankle and i took you out with me i’m so sorry”runner hailey/innocent bystander jay au
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Series: halstead & upton au collection. [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945786
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	the way we met

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone!! i know it's been a minute, but please enjoy this cute prompt i drafted up this morning :)
> 
> p.s. follow me on tumblr @ruzek-halstead for all my fics AND MORE (bonuses like social media and stuff)

hailey doesn’t run.

she can go to the gym, no problem.

life some weights? hell yes. mess around on the machines? you know it.

but cardio?

she would genuinely rather be beaten to death with a yoga ball.

but alas, there she was, dressed in black leggings, a matching sports bra and windbreaker. her best friend kim had somehow convinced her to run a ten kilometre marathon for charity (guilted her, was more like it), so she had no choice but to force herself to get into shape and not embarrass herself on the day of the run. 

today happened to be a particularly ugly day. it had rained the majority of the night, and the morning was dark, cloudy and windy. hailey’s favourite weather. so, if she was going to run, she would do it while she was in a good mood.

she was only in a good mood for about ten minutes after she started her run. it had literally only been ten minutes and she was out of breath and about to call an uber to pick her up off the side of the curb. 

that is, until she found herself sprawled across the pavement and cursing in pain.

“oh — fuck!” 

“mother of —” 

and because hailey had the best luck of anyone she had ever met, not only did she wipe out on the pavement, she also managed to take down a completely innocent bystander. 

all she could feel was searing pain coming from her right ankle. her adrenaline was still high and she couldn’t feel any of the additional scrapes on her body. she could, however, feel the hard and lean body underneath her considering she was sprawled half over it. 

“what the fuck?” she heard a deep voice mumble.

hailey attempted to maneuver herself off the stranger, squeaking when she placed pressure on her ankle. “exercise, they said,” she muttered angrily, pushing her hands down on the stranger’s chest to propel herself up. the stranger grunted, but she ignored it. “it’s healthy, they said. healthy my _ass_.”

hailey dragged herself across the pavement, detaching herself from the body she collided with. she was finally able to get a good look. the stranger was tall (she could tell because he was lying flat on his back against the pavement), he was also incredibly muscular and hailey was amazed she was able to knock him down. she forcefully pushed up on her knees, ignoring the searing pain, and peeked at his facial features. his green eyes were opened wide, millions of freckles littered his skin adorably and his mouth was still muttering profanities. 

he was easily the most beautiful man she had even seen in her life. 

and she had just knocked him to the ground. she literally just opened herself up to a lawsuit. but he was so mesmerizing, she couldn’t even focus on that.

“shit — are you okay?” hailey asked in a hoarse voice. “oh my god, i think you’re bleeding. fuck.”

her statement seemed to grab his attention as he followed her eye line to his chest, where there were little splatters of blood. he wasted no time in sitting up and lifting up his (tight) t-shirt to inspect his (amazingly) sculpted abs. 

if hailey wasn’t lightheaded and faint from her fall, she sure as hell was now. 

she was too focused on his abs to notice there were no actual lacerations to cause the blood. he tugged his shirt back down and sent her an apprehensive look. “i don’t think this blood is mine.”

this time, hailey followed his eyes to her hands, where she flipped them over to reveal her bloody palms. she must have injured them when she hit the ground, attempting to stabilize herself over the stranger (the absolutely gorgeous stranger). and she must have gotten it all over his shirt when she used him to upright herself.

“shit, i’m so sorry,” she apologized, her shoulders sagging in defeat. she was generally a clumsy person, but she usually only injured herself; it was very rare she took someone down with her. “i was just trying to train for this marathon, but clearly i suck at running and i’m ninety-seven percent sure i’ve broken my ankle,” she rushed out all in one breath; her green-eyed stranger was staring at her with bewildered eyes. “which i guess is karma, but _fuck_ , this shit hurts.”

her stranger frowned, casting a look behind hailey to her ankle. she was still positioned uncomfortably on her knees, and she was pleasantly surprised when he stood up, dusted himself off and offered her a hand.

“no, it’s okay,” hailey shrugged him off, dramatically gesturing to herself. “i deserve this. just let me sit here and wallow in pain.”

initially, he looked confused, but his expression morphed into amusement as he held his hand out even further. he raised an eyebrow, as if daring her to refuse again. 

meekly, she took his hand and allowed him to haul her up, placing most of her weight on her left foot. 

“you really want to help me?” hailey mumbled, as he pulled her along the sidewalk. she had no idea where he was leading her but she was too busy rambling to care. “i basically just assaulted you. oh god, please don’t sue me; i’m still paying off my student loans!”

he chuckled and said, “i’m not going to sue you. at least, not yet.”

“that isn’t funny,” she retorted, “i literally have nothing offer you.”

for the first time since they’d started walking (re: hobbling in hailey’s condition), they finally stopped. he had brought her over to a truck parked on the street; she wondered if it was his. 

oh no, is this where she gets kidnapped by the handsome stranger? is this like a ted bundy type situation?

hailey didn’t get much more time to ponder her gorgeous stranger’s serial killer capabilities, because he turned to her with a mind-blowing smirk that had all logic vanishing from her brain. 

“i’m sure we can work something out.”

hailey paused, begging her brain to begin functioning again. “i’m going to be honest. you’re giving off some serial killer vibes right now.”

his smirk dropped and he frowned. “what? i’m not a serial killer. why would you say that?”

“i don’t really know,” she blurted, “i think my brain is short-circuiting because you’re really attractive and i am in _so_ much pain, and i don’t really know what i’m doing right now.”

“let’s start over,” he shook his head with a hint of an amused smile on his lips. “my name is jay, you ran me over a few minutes ago. remember that?”

hailey frowned, but she was secretly delighted at his ability to be sarcastic, even in the most inappropriate of times. “yes, i remember that. i have a current reminder that won’t _let_ me forget about that,” she motioned to her bum ankle. it was swollen and purple and it just looked overall disgusting; definitely not meet cute material.

“here’s a little about me,” jay started and hailey furrowed her eyebrows; this conversation was getting away from her. and her ankle hurt _so_ damn bad. “i happen to like aggressive women. maybe not to the point where they’re physically violent, but i think i can work with it.”

hailey stared at him, dumbfounded.

“i’m sorry, what?”

he seemed to ignore her. “i should probably get you to the hospital to check out that ankle,” he replied, opening the passenger door to his truck. “i’m assuming you’ll want to be pain-free for our date.”

hailey allowed him to grab her hand and help her into his truck. “i’m sorry, _what_?”

jay dropped his right eyelid in a wink. “sorry, was i not clear enough?”

“i literally just _attacked_ you on the sidewalk. what the _hell_ is going on?”

“do you want to tell me your name yet?” he asked as he swung around to the driver’s seat. 

hailey’s jaw was still hanging open. “my name is hailey but i’m still s—”

“hailey,” he turned to her with genuine, bright green eyes. “would you like to go on a date with me?”

the blonde sputtered, attempting not to choke on her own spit. “is this seriously happening right now?”

“yes.”

“i’m not hallucinating, or i don’t have a concussion?”

“i don’t think you hit your head. unless you’re on some sort of drugs i don’t know about?”

“you seriously want to go out with the crazy girl who took you down on the street?”

jay shot her a fond smile. “it’ll be one hell of a story to tell.”

as if she wasn’t convinced from the first second she collided with him, she grinned and replied, “ _hell_ yes, i’ll go out with you."

**Author's Note:**

> hope you all enjoyed this!!
> 
> stay safe everyone x
> 
> p.s. follow me on tumblr @ruzek-halstead for all my fics AND MORE (bonuses like social media and stuff)


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